Science communication: understanding its challenges and opportunities – review of three books

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Humans are interpersonal beings – why isn’t science communication interpersonal?

Weak science communication coupled with misinformation and disinformation has resulted in major challenges for environmental decision-makers, particularly in areas of climate change and marine renewable energy. Interpersonal communication strategies provide the means of facilitating a shift to two-way communication, as they encourage science conversations between communicators and citizens. Science communicators should make themselves more personally known to their audiences. They should communicate using shared stories and conversational language to enable them to relate better with their audiences. In addition, institutions, agencies, networks, and organizations should adapt and support the use of interpersonal strategies by their science communicators.

Remembering Hudson-70

Hudson-70 was the last big multidisciplinary global oceanographic expedition. Organized by the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO), based in Nova Scotia, this epic eleven-month voyage lasted from November 1969 to October 1970, involved 128 scientists from five countries, and traversed five oceans. Enroute, the CSS Hudson steamed 56,000 nautical miles and became the first ship to circumnavigate the Americas. A huge amount of new oceanographic information in all disciplines was collected in environments ranging from tropical to polar. Major highlights are summarized. General overviews of the expedition were published in three books and the results of individual studies were reported in over 50 scientific publications. Hudson-70 was a major Canadian oceanographic accomplishment, truly worthy of celebrating fifty years later.

A review of the fishes and fisheries of Minas Basin and Minas Passage, Nova Scotia, and their potential risk from tidal power development

A total of 85 species of fish are known or suspected from Minas Basin and Minas Passage, Nova Scotia, Canada. This systematic review details their seasonal occurrence, habitat, abundance, migratory behavior, fisheries and potential impact from tidal power development. The fish assemblage is a mixture of species common to the Bay of Fundy and the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia as well as numerous warm- and cold-water visitors seldom found elsewhere in Canada. Minas Basin fisheries exploit some species especially those that migrate through the Basin during summer. Fishes were captured or observed using angling, seines, benthic long lines, drift and fixed gill nets, intertidal fish weirs, bottom trawls and sightings while on vessels. Fishes are categorized with respect to their taxonomic diversity, seasonal occurrence, status, fisheries and the potential impact from tidal lagoons and propeller turbines resulting from development of tidal power in Minas Basin and Minas Passage. Keywords: Bay of Fundy, habitat, species status, propeller turbines, taxonomic relationship, tidal lagoons.

Discerning Experts. The Practices of Scientific Assessment for Environmental Policy

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Mammals of Prince Edward Island and Adjacent Marine Waters

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Editorial: Addressing the crisis in biodiversity – our role

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The NSIS student science writing competition

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Historical air photo missions in the Maritimes during the early 1920s: coverage, thematic scope, and utility 100 years later

The historical and technological developments of powered flight and aerial photography have early connections in the Maritimes. Following the Great War (1914-18), a series of pioneering survey missions were initiated by the Canada Air Board in the civilian domain. From a science perspective, the air photos offer a unique opportunity for the detection of environmental change at an unusual centennial time scale. The missions of the early 1920s initially relied on military surplus seaplanes and innovative camera equipment that yielded several thousand high-resolution vertical air photos. This paper is focussed on the scope and outcome of the first experiments carried out over Nova Scotia and New Brunswick between 1921 and 1925, prior to more systematic use for topographic mapping during the remainder of that decade. The research is based on archival records and partial reconstruction of the digitized air photos into image mosaics. Photo interpretation and comparison with recent high-resolution satellite imagery offer insights concerning land use and land cover changes, coastal dynamics, and transformation of urban, rural and industrial landscapes. Experience todate with these early air photos and mosaics of the Maritimes holds promise for examining similar aerial survey missions in other parts of Canada.

Seafloor and sediment characteristics of pulp mill waste discharges in the 20th century: Framework data for Boat Harbour, Nova Scotia, remediation projects and for baseline surveys of new pulp waste outfall installations in Northumberland Strait

During the 20th century, contamination of marine environments by Canadian pulp and paper mill effluent (PPE) resulted in the imposition of federal government regulations in 1971 that were revised and strengthened in 1992. This report reviews seafloor sediment features for three marine settings (intertidal, subtidal and prodelta) arising from 20th century PPE discharges from four pulp and paper mills, one located near New Richmond, Quebec, and three situated along the lower reaches of the Saguenay River, Quebec. The four mills began operations between 1965 and the early 1900’s. Observations of their proximal and distal sediment and Foraminifera characteristics in relation to PPE discharge outfalls offer guidance for the remediation of potentially toxic, multi-decadal waste accumulations in several lagoons of Boat Harbour, Nova Scotia. Seafloor environmental data discussed for a fifth mill’s subtidal outfall, located on the eastern shore of Canso Strait, may be particularly germane for selecting the site and baseline environmental survey criteria for a new PPE submarine outfall that has been proposed (presently rejected) by Northern Pulp Company for the Caribou Harbour area of the Northumberland Strait coast, in the event that the currently closed mill is permitted to be reactivated in the future. Keywords: effluent, environmental effects, organic matter, pulp mill waste, sediments